April 21, 2006

The Art of Drinking Shots

There's nothing that says Friday like "Let's do shots," but the slightest misstep in the ancient ritual could turn you from bar room hero to loveable loser in two seconds flat. Who gets to make the toast? When do you drink? Should you clink your glasses? It can all be overwhelming, but luckily Modern Drunkard Magazine has put together a step-by-step guide to keep you from falling flat on your face the next time you buy (or participate in) a round.

“ Let’s do a shot. ”

Are there four words in the drunkard’s vocabulary more heartening than those? Four simple words, yet so packed with drama and purpose. It can be an invitation to bond with friends and strangers alike. An instant shared experience. A way of marking an occasion, of saying hello, good luck, congratulations, better luck next time, and so long. An opportunity to become blood brothers, if only as long as the same booze courses through your veins. If sharing a beer with a friend can be called the equivalent of a friendly walk in the park, then doing a shot is akin to storming a fortified bunker together-—it’s more dangerous, yes, but also more exciting.

Too often, however, this venerable ritual is executed as a mechanical event, like the lighting of a cigarette, or worse, as a bit of unpleasantness one must occasionally suffer when amongst friends. Others think it requires a special occasion, and those are the same people who only call their mothers on Mother’s Day.

The fact of the matter is, doing a shot requires no occasion at all, because, properly executed, it is an occasion.

via Modern Drunkard Magazine - The Art of the Shot

Read on to learn the five steps of a successfully executed shooter. Plus, check out their list of shot faux-pas, including the Bungee Dump, the Chicken Shot, and Premature Imbibation - avoid them like the plague to make sure no one's laughing at you on the other side of their glass.